Asknet, a service provider that helps US online retailers increase their sales in foreign markets, announced July 20 that it has expanded its reach into Taiwan and the BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The company’s e-commerce platform enables Internet retailers to increase their sales in overseas markets by helping them break through cultural, language and currency barriers. Asknet’s client roster includes Nokia, SanDisk, Opera Software and DivX.
“To be successful in different markets around the world, you really have to be localized again with the whole marketing portfolio — the product, naming, the localization of the website, the language and the payment options,” said Mark Begin, president of asknet.
For instance, in the US shoppers crave deep discounts, but Japanese customers are likely to assume that items marked down are flawed, according to Begin.
Asknet also designed its e-commerce platform to prevent translation gaffes, such as when the Milk Processor Education Program’s “Got Milk?” campaign targeting Latino audiences was translated into Spanish as, “Are you lactating?”
Asknet is raising awareness of its expanded range by e-mailing current and prospective clients, placing targeted online advertisements and meeting quarterly with existing customers to introduce its new services.
The Germany-based e-commerce developer, which has its North American headquarters in San Francisco, offers 31 shop languages, 38 billing currencies, 33 payment options and 12 customer service languages.
